Thank you to the Harrington Park Community Business Alliance for organizing the 2019 Harrington Park Farmers Market! The HP Green Team and Environmental Commission enjoyed hosting a table during the three spring dates (5/26, 6/2 and 6/9) and are looking forward to the return of the market in the fall (9/8, 9/15 and 9/22) – from 10am – 2pm at the Borough Hall parking lot. Our volunteers enjoyed giving out reusable shopping bags – courtesy of Bergen County Clean Communities and talking with shoppers. We also sold Peter’s delicious ice cold lemonade one Sunday and environmentally friendly outdoor insect repellent sticks. Thank you to the folks who helped support our mission by their purchases! We hope that everyone has a great summer and that we will see you at Town Day on September 7th. Please email hpgreenteam@gmail.com with any questions or concerns.

It’s been a long and wet and often windy winter, but spring is finally here! It is time to pick up the branches and twigs, rake out the dead grass and leaves, and enjoy being outside doing spring garden and yard cleaning! In Harrington Park yard & garden refuse is picked up curbside on Mondays, starting on April 1st – running through November 11th, 2019 (Tuesdays May 28 & September 3rd). Please put the material in containers. Large branches can be left curbside to be chipped (separate from Monday collection and done by the HP DPW). The garden refuse material is composted (and recycled!); please do not put yard waste in your regular trash.

Welcome SPRING! Time for daffodils and baseball and spring cleaning! Come join the HP Environmental Commission and Green Team for a local woods cleanup on Saturday April 6th– from 9am-1 pm. Meet at the end of Pine Place(off Lynn St.). Gloves, grabbers and bags provided. Please dress for the conditions- long sleeves and pants. Rain cancels with rain date the next Saturday, April 13th. RSVP not necessary but appreciated to hpgreenteam@gmail.com The area we will be cleaning is owned by Suez. There are scattered piles of trash and beautiful trees and views. Hope you can join us– this will be a fun morning!

Sometimes it hits something special – like the beautiful information kiosk at the entrance to Beechwoods Park. The windy snowstorm on 3/3/19 caused a Beech tree to fall, which destroyed the kiosk in a direct hit. The “before” photo is the RIGHT lower one (taken March 2017) and the other four photos show the extent of the damage. In April 2012, for his Boy Scout Troop 616 Eagle Project, Nick Venezia constructed the trail leading to Blanche Brook, built this information kiosk at the entrance to the park and re-purposed downed logs into benches at the Blanche Brook end of the trail. Over the years other Boy Scouts have extended the trail, and built more information signs, allowing the public to better appreciate and enjoy this lovely park. The Harrington Park Environmental Commission and Green Team hopes to work with the Boy Scouts this summer to replace the information kiosk. The trail remains open with the entrance to the park off Beechwood Place. We invite you to visit the park!

THE NEXT GREEN TEAM MEETING WILL BE ON Wednesday February 6th at 7:30pm- at HP Borough Hall – all are welcome! The Harrington Park Green Team is a volunteer group of citizens whose goal is to preserve our town’s natural resources and the quality of life for the citizens of Harrington Park now, and in the future. We are an advisory group to the Environmental Commission and we meet monthly to discuss and act on local environmental issues. Our membership includes all EC members, the city planner, Mayor Hoelscher, and other interested HP citizens. Since January 2015 the Green Team meeting has been incorporated into the HP EC meeting.

Enjoy the winter outside with a visit to one of Harrington Park’s parks! And “Breathe Easy”, as our parks are 100% smoke free. It will likely be a few more months until the tennis courts are in use, but, thanks to the recent dry and very cold weather, the George Street Park ice rink still has good ice > why not try ice skating? Or slide a bit on the ice in your shoes or boots (fun too!) as you catch up with neighbors and cheer on the skaters. (Young hockey player visible in distance) 2/1/19

The George Street Park ice rink is open! Located at the corner of Glen Ave and George St in Harrington Park, skating is free and open to all and the area is lit so you can enjoy evening ice skating! An HP tradition for over 25 years, the field is flooded by the Harrington Park fire department in late December and skating starts as soon as the water freezes. Snow is cleared by volunteer users. Come check it out and bring a friend – and some hot cocoa!